Hotter, colder, you’re burning up: a little dictionary of hot and cold

One game, a handful of names

Everybody knows the game. Somebody hides something, everybody else looks for it, and the only help they get is a temperature. What nobody agrees on is the name. It changes from family to family, and sometimes from one side of the street to the other.

So if you’ve ever typed “hotter colder game name” into a search box, you’re in good company. Here are the names you’re most likely to hear, in alphabetical order.

Getting warmer. Not so much a name as the line everyone remembers. It escaped the game long ago: in everyday English, “you’re getting warmer” means you’re close to the right answer, whether it’s a riddle, a crossword clue or a surprise party.

Hot and cold. Probably the most common name in the United States. Short, clear, and it tells you the whole rule in three words.

Hot or cold. The same game, often used when the seeker asks the question out loud: “Hot or cold?”

Hotter, colder. Some families name the game after the comparisons, because that’s what you hear most during a round. The seeker isn’t told how close they are, only whether the last step helped.

Hunt the thimble. The old British parlor game, where the hidden thing was traditionally a thimble from the sewing basket. Its story has its own article.

Warmer, colder. The gentle version. No one is ever “burning.” They just get warmer. Popular with small children and with teachers.

The shouts, from ice cold to on fire

Every family has its own scale, but most use some of these, roughly in this order:

• Freezing, ice cold, Arctic. You’re as far away as you can get. Some players like to say “you’re in Antarctica.”
• Cold. Wrong direction, but not hopeless.
• Cool, lukewarm. Something is starting to happen.
• Warm, warmer. You’re on the right track. Keep going.
• Hot. Very close. Look right around you.
• Boiling, burning, on fire, you’re burning up! Your hand is practically touching it.

Notice that the scale is really two scales at once. One says where you are (cold, warm, hot). The other says which way you’re moving (warmer, colder). Good hiders use both: “Still cold, but warmer.” That tiny sentence is worth a lot to the seeker.

The seven temperatures of the word version

In the word version of the game, nothing is hidden in the room. A word is. You type any word you like, and you get its temperature: how close it is to the secret word in meaning. Warmer Warmer uses seven names for that, plus one for the finish. Here is what each one tells you.

• Freezing. This word has nothing to do with the secret. Don’t look near it. Jump to a completely different subject.
• Cold. A faint connection at best. Keep it in the back of your mind and try something else.
• Cool. You’re in a related world, but far from the center. Ask yourself what this word and the secret might share.
• Lukewarm. A real link. Stay in this neighborhood and try a few words around it.
• Warm. You’re on the trail. Now ask sharper questions: what is it for, where is it, what is it made of?
• Hot. Close. The secret is probably a neighbor of this word, something that goes with it or does the same job.
• Scorching. Right next door. Often a word that is almost the same thing, or the thing it’s always paired with.
• Found it! That’s the secret word. Everyone gets the same one today, so don’t tell.

One sample game, every temperature

Here’s a game that touches every step of the scale once, for the secret word wheelbarrow.

1. opera37 °FFreezing: a completely different world
2. beach52 °FCold: outdoors, at least
3. tool82 °FCool: useful things, but far off
4. yard111 °FLukewarm: now we know where it lives
5. dirt135 °FWarm: what it carries
6. rake160 °FHot: another thing from the same shed
7. cart190 °FScorching: almost the same thing
8. wheelbarrowFound it!

Look at how the player moves. Opera is freezing, so they leave the arts behind entirely. Beach is cold but says “outdoors,” and yard confirms it. Dirt answers the question “what does it carry?”, rake asks “what else lives in the shed?”, and cart is so close it’s nearly the answer. The cold words weren’t wasted. Each one closed a door.

Try it now: what’s your first guess?

Guess

Your word goes straight into today’s game.

Two words that cause the most confusion

Lukewarm sounds disappointing, but in the word game it’s good news. It means there’s a real connection. Plenty of winning games pass through lukewarm on the way up.

Hot is not the same as scorching. Hot means you’re in the right neighborhood. Scorching means you’re knocking on the door. When you go from hot to scorching, stop changing the subject and look at the words that sit right beside your best guess.

Where all the names meet

Whatever your family calls it, the rule never changes: the temperature is the only clue, and you build the path yourself. The word version just moves the hiding place from behind the sofa into language. There’s one new secret word every day at midnight, the same for everyone, free in your browser with no sign-up.

If you’d like the full rules and a few tips for finding the word in fewer guesses, read how the hot and cold word game works. Or skip the reading and try today’s word.